5 Ways to Help the Declining Bee Population

Since the late 1990s, scientists have been observing a
mysterious disappearance of bees including bumblebees and commercial honeybees
across the globe. (1)

But why should we care?

Bees play a very vital role in our ecosystems. Bees do more
for our food than just make honey: a third of all of our food is dependent upon
their pollinating processes (these include fruit, vegetables, vegetable oils
and spices).While manual pollination of
these foods by humans is possible, it is extremely hard, inefficient and
expensive compared to the natural process in which bees pollinate. (1)

There are many theories as to why the population of bees is
declining around the world. Most scientists agree that the use of pesticides is
to blame for the weakening of bees’ immune systems. Additionally, many believe
that their natural habitats of wildflower meadows are being destroyed by human
traffic and industrialization. (2)

The most important thing to know is that everyone can do
something to help save the bees. Here are some simple ways YOU can make a
difference:

1.Plant
native wildflowers and flowering shrubs such as berries in your backyard.
These are great food sources for bees and will allow the pollinator population
to thrive. (1)

2.Don’t mow
more of your lawn than is necessary. Small backyard blooms such as clover and
dandelions are critical to the survival of our backyard pollinator friends. (2)

3.Purchase
organic cotton. Cotton is one crop that is highest ranking in pesticide
usage, so this is a way to make sure that bees were not endangered in the
production of this fabric. (2)

4.Support
current bills that ban or limit the use of pesticides or that protect
pollinators in other ways. (1)

5.Some big-business farms transport bees to
pollinate their vegetables for one season and let them die immediately
afterwards. (3) To combat this,buy local produce and honey
from farmers and beekeepers that care about their bees.